What do you wear for a video interview?

- Ah, the age old question, what should I wear? This is an important and often confounding one for any interview. It can be even more challenging to figure out your best outfit choice when it's a video interview. I mean, you're probably going to do this from home, right? So is it weird put on a suit and then sit in your den to record it? Can you be in just regular every day clothes? Can you wear your pajama pants? Hey, knock yourself out, just don't stand up. No, seriously, how do figure out what outfit is going to be to your best advantage? First, and this is important, realize that you speak paragraphs about yourself before you even open your mouth in an interview. Yup, that's correct. Your interviewer, whether they realize it or not, will be making snap judgements about you based on your appearance alone, before you even start the conversation. Is it fair? Well, probably not, but does it happen? Heck yes it does. So let's think about how you can figure out what outfit will help create this loud and clear message that you're the absolute best candidate for the role. Start by answering this question, what's the vibe of this company? Are they super straight-laced, or are they more high personality? Can you tell from their website, their social media accounts, or their employees' LinkedIn profiles, what their people typically wear? While some career experts will insist that you dress up in your finest suit, I'm going to argue that this advice is a dinosaur. Certainly, you want to look polished and put together, so don't go with that ratty old T-shirt you've been wearing since college. But you also want to look relatable, as in like someone who's going to fit right in around that place. So I recommend choosing an outfit that aligns with your understanding of that company's culture and their dress code. If you see that everyone's wearing polo shirts and jeans, the last thing you want to do is show up on camera in your formal suit and tie. Next, be mindful of what's going to show on camera and how it's going to appear on the other end. White might be amazing at an in-person interview, but it's likely going to make you look too bright, or washed out on camera. Likewise, super busy patterns might be your absolute jam, but they tend to look distracting on camera, and in the worst case, they might make the person on the other end dizzy, not what you're aiming for. Simple, rich colors that tend to work really well include mustard yellow, reds that aren't too bright, sapphire blue, and plum. And if you go with gree, make it more of an emerald green. I once bought a green blazer thinking it was going to be perfect on camera, it was not perfect at all, I looked like I was impersonating a Master's Golf Tournament winner. Pick your colors and your patterns wisely. Last, remember to coordinate your outfit with your background. I recommend trying on your outfit in advance. Throw it on, sit in the room that you'll do the interview in, and either record a short video snippet, or have someone snap a photo of you, so you can see if it's going to work. You have made it this far, that's fantastic. The interviewers are clearly seeing something in you that has them excited. Keep that excitement building, step into your video interview, looking like the winning candidate.